Treasures of the Atkinson

The Atkinson in Southport continues with its season of online events in February with Treasures of The Atkinson, presented by Martyn Griffiths.

Martin is a retired engineer with a keen interest in local history who’s volunteered at The Atkinson for a number of years. He can often be found beavering away down in the archives, formatting artefacts and uncovering many fascinating images. There’s so much material that Treasures of the Atkinson has been split into two parts.

In the first instalment in January, Martin revealed a fascinating selection of photographs from the old Botanic Garden which were moved to The Atkinson a few years ago. We saw scans from glass negatives which were taken by Henry Sampson, a photographer in Southport in the mid to late Victorian period, and were treated to some unique street views from the past, including rare snapshots of London Square, Lord Street and Wellington Terrace.

The archives of The Atkinson include a treasure trove of historic photographs, postcards, archaeology and art

Treasures of The Atkinson is part of the Object of the Month series of free talks which take place on the second Wednesday of every month and highlight different pieces from The Atkinson’s fine art and social history collections. Objects come from across all of the collections, from painting, print and sculpture to craft, costume and ceramics.

The Atkinson has almost 3,000 works of art dating from the 17th to the 21st centuries. This fine collection includes work by Henry Moore, Elisabeth Frink, Sargent, LS Lowry, Arthur Dooley, Adrian Henri, Steer, John Sell Cotman and William Henry Hunt. There are many Continental works of art including a painting by the French Salon painter Rosa Bonheur, an early large-scale allegory by Nicolas Loir and a Dutch townscape by Willem Koekkoek.

The Atkinson also houses a museum which explores the history of those who have lived and worked along the Sefton coast from prehistoric times to the present day. You’ll also discover the Goodison Collection of Egyptology, as well as a treasure trove of local historic photographs, postcards, ship models, coins and medals, toys and dolls, archaeology and decorative art.

The second part of Treasures of The Atkinson with Martyn Griffiths promises to be another thrilling journey through the archives. These online talks are free, but booking is required before 11am on the morning of the event. A recording of the talk will be available to watch online one week after their first presentation.